


There's no Orcish word for 'sorry'

by Nary



Category: JourneyQuest
Genre: Apologies, Bards, Communication, Communication Failure, Crying, Developing Relationship, Expanding Vocabulary, F/M, First Kiss, Future Fic, Languages and Linguistics, Orcs, Relationship Advice, Sweet, Teaching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-24
Updated: 2012-12-24
Packaged: 2017-11-22 07:22:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/607283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nary/pseuds/Nary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first sentence Wren learned in Orcish was “How do you say…?”  She filled in the last part with pointing or gestures or mime.  “I took an elective in mime!” she said brightly when Rilk looked confused, but since he didn’t know what an ‘elective’ was, it didn’t really clear anything up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	There's no Orcish word for 'sorry'

**Author's Note:**

  * For [professor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/professor/gifts).



> Thanks to my wonderful beta Elanya, as always :)

The first sentence Wren learned in Orcish was “How do you say…?” She filled in the last part with pointing or gestures or mime. “I took an elective in mime!” she said brightly when Rilk looked confused, but since he didn’t know what an ‘elective’ was, it didn’t really clear anything up. That was okay, though. He was happy to tell her the words for everything she wanted to know, because the more she learned, the more they could talk to one another, and (he hoped) the less often he would be confused. He tried to pick up the words she used too, but frankly, she was just better at Orcish than he was at Humie. Wren had a natural ear for language, and a stronger motivation to learn, having no one else to talk to but the orcs.

He taught her simple words at first – tree, water, blood, knife. She made a face and asked about some kind of yellow flowers growing alongside the road. Rilk shrugged. “That doesn’t grow where we live,” he had to say. “It’s yellow. It’s a flower.” She picked one and handed it to him. He looked at it, not sure what she wanted him to do, and was even more bemused when she laughed and took it back and then tucked it into one of the buckles of his armor. It sat there the rest of the day, slowly wilting. He had no idea what it meant, but it had made her smile, and that was good enough for now.

He taught her verbs. Walk, ride, run, hide, stab, kill. At first she could only say things in the present – I want, you talk, we learn. It made her sound like a child, and he had to smile when she tried to make sentences with her meager vocabulary, like “I go get green plant, you make food, we eat.” He corrected her as gently as he could, but Orcish wasn’t really a language made for gentleness, and sometimes his instructions sounded harsh even to his ears. She didn’t seem to mind that too much, but she did stamp her foot and look angry when he chuckled at her mistakes. So he tried not to do that, but it was almost impossible to avoid when she said things like “I go wash my beard” instead of “hair.” After he burst out laughing, she stomped off to the stream muttering what he suspected were humie swear words. 

“Teach her how to say ‘I want to rut with you,’” Grellnok suggested helpfully that evening after she was asleep. “Then you’d have to show her the actions to explain what you mean, and…” 

“No,” said Rilk flatly. 

Yart rolled his eyes at Grellnok. “You need to teach her prettier words. She doesn’t need the words for swords and fighting right now, unless that’s what she’s asking about. She wants to know about flowers and holding hands and laughter…”

“She didn’t like laughter so much today,” Rilk said, shoulders slumping, discouraged.

“Because you were laughing at _her_!” Yart explained patiently. 

“But it was funny!” Rilk sighed. “Should I tell her _why_ it was funny, at least? Would that help?”

“Maybe,” Yart said. “But it would be even better if you said you didn’t mean it. She’s trying really hard to learn Orcish because of you, after all.”

“And because without us she’d be stuck in alone in the wilderness, with no bardic license to keep her safe,” Grellnok muttered.

“It must be frustrating for her,” Yart said, shooting a sympathetic look in the direction of Wren’s bedroll. “She’s spent years training to be a bard – her world, her entire life, is all about communication, and now she’s struggling with basic grammar. Just… think about her feelings?” 

The next day, Rilk waited for Wren to ask him the word for something, but she just stomped along in stubborn silence. Yart gave him a Look, so he fell into step beside her and tried to start a conversation. “Uhh….” He looked around, desperately hoping to see something that he could name for her, something that would make her less angry. His gaze fell on nothing but rocks and leaves and clouds, and he knew she already knew all of those words. 

“Come on,” Yart said pointedly to Grellnok. “We should scout ahead. In case there’s an ambush.”

“There’s no sign of any amb--ohhh, okay,” Grellnok agreed as Yart nudged him sharply in the ribs. “We’ll just be… up ahead.” The two orcs hurried off out of earshot, leaving Rilk and Wren alone for once.

“Wren,” he began, using the word in his own language for the little brown bird with the pretty song. He had felt so clever when they’d figured out together what her name would be in Orcish. She had a way of making him feel clever most of the time, he realized, and he wanted to do the same for her. Really, it was impressive that she’d learned as much as she had in a few weeks. “I shouldn’t have laughed,” he said. He tried to keep his words simple enough to make sure she would understand, without sounding like he was talking down to her. 

She glared at him, frowning, and pointed to her face. “How do you say this?”

“Uh… angry?”

“Angry,” she repeated. “I try hard. You laugh.”

“I know. You are doing so well, Wren. Amazing. I couldn’t learn your language this fast. I wasn’t laughing at you, just at what you said.” He looked over at her and saw that she was crying silently as they walked. “Wait,” he said, taking her hand and stopping in the middle of the road. She looked up at him, surprised, as he reached out to touch her cheek. “Crying,” he told her, “tears,” as he wiped them away, “sad.” Her skin felt so fragile and soft underneath his rough hands, but she didn’t pull back. 

“How do you say this?” she asked, and stood up on her tiptoes to press her lips against his.

“Kiss,” Rilk told her when he could finally talk again.

“Smile,” Wren said, touching his lips with her fingers, and he did, and then she smiled too. When they finally started walking again, she didn’t let go of his hand.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at [naryrising](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/naryrising) if you want to ask questions, make requests, or chat!


End file.
